The Abortion Debate

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No matter where you stand on the issue, abortion is a highly debated topic in today’s society. In this essay I will examine both sides of the abortion issue. I will begin with a brief overview of the abortion debate, to include the morality of the situation. Next I will discuss the Pro-Life argument. Lastly I will look at the Pro-Choice view. In the final analysis I will show how utilitarianism, altruism, and situational ethical views apply to abortion. Having in mind the extreme controversy surrounding this issue, I will examine the history of abortion and why it is so highly debated today.

The moral problem with abortion is when, if ever, is abortion morally justifiable? The answer to this question lies somewhere within one of three points of view. First, the conservative view is that abortion as never justifiable. Next, the liberals would say abortion is always justifiable. Finally, the moderate view holds the belief that some reasons, but not all, give adequate justification. Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus (Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, 2010).

In order to argue either side of this argument one must decide the ontological status of a fetus. When does the fetus become a biological human being? There are a number of positions that define the being or exultance of a fetus. The conservative would argue it is at the moment of conception, in contrast to the liberal who would say a fetus never reaches this status with the moderate somewhere in between. The next issue we must consider is the moral status of a fetus; does this fetus have any rights, and if so, what are they? If a fetus has no rights, abortion w...

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...I don’t expect to sway you either way, just to present the information for an informed decision. Right or wrong, abortion is an ethical, emotionally charged topic in which “truth” is continually open to debate.

Works Cited

Abortion. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved March 20, 2010, from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abortion

Blackmun, H. A. (1973, January 22). FindLaw. Retrieved March 18, 2010, from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=410&invol=113

Marquis, D. (1989, April). JUSTOR. Retrieved Marrch 18, 2010, from JUSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2026961

Thompson, J. J. (1971, Autumn). JUSTOR. Retrieved March 18, 2010, from Philosophy and Public Affairs,.: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265091

Thomson, Mel. Teach Yourself Ethics, 3rd Ed. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 2006.

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